The cost of saving global economy: $834 million an hour for 18 months

Imagine spending $834 million an hour for 18 months. That’s how much central banks have spent buying bonds since the pandemic hit, according to Bank of America strategists, who estimate the Fed alone has put in $4 trillion.

It’s a statistic that speaks to the unprecedented wall of money that kept companies afloat during lockdowns and sparked the biggest stock market rally of a generation. 

“Stimulus has caused immense inflation of Wall Street assets,” wrote strategists led by Michael Hartnett. 

With central banks sucking up so much of the bond market and forcing down borrowing costs, there’s now more than $16 trillion in